Spiral
by SydneyIvashkov062
Summary: How will Zoe's arrival affect Sydney, Adrian, and the rest of the Palm Springs group? Set a few days after the end of TIS. Disclaimer: I don't own the Bloodlines series. PLEASE NOTE: There is going to be a lot of Sydrian. Duh! Anyway, if you don't ship Sydney and Adrian not only should you not read this story, I hereby banish you from my circle of friendship. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is my first Sydrian fanfic, and I'm really nervous I won't do Richelle Mead justice. Anyway, it's set right after the ending to The Indigo Spell, so don't continue if you haven't read it. Enjoy!**  
**(I don't own the Vampire Academy/Bloodlines series')**

Zoe slept soundly beside me, which I didn't understand at all. It took me a pretty decent amount of time to get used to Rose and I sleeping anywhere near each other. But my fifteen year old sister a stairwell away from one vampire and one dhampir for the first time? No problem.  
I guess the reality hadn't sunk in yet. For either of us.  
I texted Adrian as soon as Zoe had drifted off, telling him to meet me in a spirit dream as soon as he got the message. Yet here I was, half an hour later, and I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard my little sister's gentle breathing and all of my worries flooded back again.  
It's actually unbelievable to think about. The night I finally admit my feeling for Adrian- and that in and of itself had felt spectacular- Zoe is sent here to keep an eye on me. As an Alchemist. The thought made me sick, but it wasn't a thought anymore. It was real.  
I guess a human's body can only stay up so long. Or even a junior witch's body. Because the next thing I knew, I was in Adrian's apartment. And there he was, sitting on the couch, wearing a grey t-shirt and jeans. His eyes were closed.  
"Let me guess," he said. "You changed your mind already? I thought we'd have at least a week before you relapsed." Adrian tried to keep his tone light, but I could hear a bit of worry creep into his voice. It was a fair assumption on his part, but I flinched at the way I must have made him feel when I _did_ relapse.  
"No," I said, sitting next to him, "But we do have a situation."  
He cracked a smile. "Don't we always?"  
"Adrian..." I took a deep breath. "My sister is here. In Palm Springs. She's an Alchemist."  
Adrian spun his head around to face me. "No way." I nodded.  
He groaned and stood up. "Of course she is. When you finally come around, they send your sister here to straighten you out. That's just cruel."  
I sighed. "Well, that's what happens when Alchemists cross their superiors; they start being supervised. I just never thought-"  
"You never thought they'd send your sister?" Adrian sat down again and looked at me. How had it taken me so long to realize how in sync we were? We could finish each other's thoughts.  
"Exactly."  
We probably spent about two minutes looking at each other when Adrian suddenly started stretching his legs. "What are you doing?" I asked, rising from my seat. Adrian was almost too tall for the sofa.  
He gestures me towards him. "Come on Sage," he said, "we're a couple now. We should start by cuddling and staring adoringly into each other's eyes."  
I scoffed. "You stare at me every chance you get anyway." He smirked, but it only lasted a few seconds before he became serious again. He leaned back against the couch, waiting for me to join him. My hesitation was brief, and I stretched out in front of him. His arms went around me, and I shivered at his touch.  
"This is going to be tough, you know," I said.  
"We can handle it. Unless you want to back out."  
I looked at him. "Why in the world would I want to do that?"  
He smiled again. "Just checking, Sage."  
I put my head back on his chest. Even in a dream I could smell him, the mints and cloves. I wonder if it was just my imagination or if he could actually make something as small as that part of the dream.  
We were there a while before I said, "I should probably go. You're using a lot of spirit."  
I felt Adrian shrug. "I can handle it."  
"I know. But you're still tired."  
"With your sister here, how else will I get to spend time with you?"  
He had a good point. I racked my brain, and an easy solution showed itself. "We're going to Clarence's tomorrow for Jill to get blood. I can introduce her to you there. In the mean time, we should get some sleep."  
"How many times do I have to tell you, Sage? We _are_ sleeping."  
"Yet I feel inexplicably tired after talking to you here."  
Adrian laughed. "Fine. Just tell me one thing before I let you go."  
"What?" I asked.  
"Your sister. Does she look like you?"  
I thought about it. "I guess you'll find out tomorrow."  
He let out a dramatic sigh. If he was hoping that would change my mind, it didn't work. "Oh well," he said, and the room started fading away.  
"I'll be counting the minutes, Sydney."


	2. Meeting the family

**I imagine that Zoe meeting everyone would go something like this.**

**(I don't own the Vampire Academy/Bloodlines series')**

Somehow, I managed to get some sleep after the dream. Not enough to feel completely refreshed, but enough that I wasn't bleary eyed and dazed.

The same couldn't be said for Zoe.

It was obvious that she was nervous. Really nervous. Honestly, I couldn't blame her. I remember being that scared, looking over my shoulder and grasping for the right thing to say. I still do sometimes. It's instinct. But see my little sister so freaked made my heart ache, and we hadn't even left the dorm yet.

"Are you ready?" I asked Zoe. She had been twirling a lock of her brown hair around her finger for some time now.

"Huh? Oh yeah." She stood up a little straighter, and I looked her over. She was wearing a blue tank top with a dark denim jacket to match her black skinny jeans. I almost suggested she change into something more professional but then decided against it. If she was going to be surrounded by people she believed were evil, supernatural creatures, she should at least be comfortable.

"Hey, Sydney, I have a question." Zoe said, biting her lip. "Where are we staying over winter break?"  
Amberwood didn't allow housing for students over vacations unless their families live out of state. But because our "brother" Adrian lived in Palm Springs, we couldn't stay in our dorms.

"We'll be staying with a Moroi, Clarence Donahue, until the dorms open again on the second." It was the twenty-third of December, meaning we'd have to stay there for nine days. I hadn't really minded originally. I couldn't get much safer than a house with three guardians. But looking at Zoe, I realized that living with Moroi and dhampirs during her first week was probably not what she had in mind. In fact, it would be a nightmare. Her next words confirmed as much.

"We'll be staying with _them_?" My sister's voice shook, and her eyes were terrified.

"Not if you don't want to," I said quickly. "We could get a hotel room. But we'd have to go there daily to make sure everything is okay..." I trailed off.

Zoe hesitated, then shook her head. "No, we can stay. A good Alchemist would." She looked at me and gave me a small smile. "You're really brave, Sydney."

I swallowed hard. "Well...I should introduce you to our 'family'"

I grabbed my bags and started to walk out of the room towards the stairs. Zoe followed close behind, and her words continued to ring in my ears. You're really brave...

Was I brave? I never questioned staying at Clarence's house, but not because it was my job. When I made the decision, it was just going to be me, Jill, Eddie and Angeline. It was before Neil, Jill's newest guardian, and Zoe came. It wasn't a hard choice at all, but I blatantly realized that it should have been. A good Alchemist, one that wasn't so cozy with vampires, wouldn't have even _considered_ staying with so many of 'their kind'. They would have dropped off Jill and her bodyguards, gone straight to a hotel, and locked the door.

Zoe had only been here twelve hours and I felt like I'd already messed up.

Jill, Eddie, Angeline and Neil were waiting for us in the Central campus lobby with their bags in lobby was decorated for all sorts of religions and holidays, though the big fake Christmas tree in the middle was certainly the most obvious. "Hey, Sydney," Eddie said, smiling. He'd apparently taken my advice about Jill to heart and stood closer to her that usual. I wouldn't say he was happy, but he wasn't depressed either. His smile became confused when he saw Zoe. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Zoe. She's the new Alchemist who's going to be in Palm Springs with us," I said, and I snuck a glance at Zoe. She was looking down at the floor.

"So she's Keith's replacement?" Eddie asked. I stiffened at the thought of comparing my sister to someone like Keith.

"Something like that," I told him.

"Are you guys related?" Angeline asked, looking between the two of us. "You look alike." That much was true. Zoe and I had the same eyes and skin color. Unlike me, Zoe's long brown hair was easy to manage.

"Zoe is my sister." That caused a few eyebrows to raise. Jill didn't seem surprised, so I guessed Adrian had gotten in touch with her. "She's been enrolled here as our cousin."

Jill studied Zoe curiously. "How old are you?" she asked.

For a second I thought Zoe wouldn't answer. But after a few moments she quietly said, "Fifteen."

"Me too!" Jill seemed happy to have something in common. My sister, on the other hand, looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Maybe we could talk sometime! I know it must be weird going to a different school with people you don't know, but it's actually not that bad. At least you don't have to start school until after winter break. I mean, it's better than showing up in the middle of the week-"

"We should get going," I interrupted. Once Jill started going, it was hard for her to stop.  
Jill bit her lip and nodded. Eddie and Neil picked up the bags and started walking towards Latte. It was almost funny to see the two of them carrying all of our bags. I wanted to say that I could carry my own, but I knew it wouldn't have mattered. I wondered if all guardians were like that.

"Oh, Sydney," Eddie called over his shoulder, "I still have your keys." He put down a bag and tossed the keys my way. I caught them with one hand.

"Thanks," I said and unlocked the car. I started to walk forward when Zoe grabbed my arm.

"Why did the dhampir have your keys?" she asked. She looked confused and nervous. And... was it just me, or was there a bit of suspicion in her eyes too?

Crap. "He had to run a few errands, and I didn't really want to go with him." The lie came easily but it took some effort to get the words out.

Zoe looked like she accepted this and continued walking. In my head I sighed with relief. I didn't like lying to Zoe, not at all. But what was I supposed to say? _Oh, I gave Eddie the car because I was going to leave the Alchemists and go to Mexico with a bunch of rebels so I wouldn't have to face the fact that I'm in love with a vampire._

Right.


	3. Nicknames

**Sorry if my chapters are so short. I just don't want to lose an idea before I get the chance to type it out. Also, I'm not really sure how often I'll post. It'll most likely be whenever i finish a chapter.**

**(I don't own the Vampire Academy/Bloodlines series')**

Getting everybody to pile into Latte was a pretty tight squeeze. Even thought my Subaru Outback is a seven-seater, we still had to stuff the luggage in the trunk. The results were me in the drivers seat (because it'll be a cold day in Hell when I let someone else drive me around in my own car), Zoe in the passenger's seat (because I'm pretty sure she'd have a panic attack surrounded by vampires), Eddie and Jill behind us and Neil and Angeline in the very back. Angeline and Eddie hadn't spoken since the Angeline/Trey incident. I had kind of hoped that Eddie would be the better person and start up conversation, but nothing's happened. And _Angeline_ certainly wasn't going to take responsibility for what she'd done. Neil seemed kind of awkward, and Zoe was keeping to herself.

Needless to say, it was a quiet ride.

By the time we got to Clarence's house, I practically jumped out of the car, and everyone was quick to follow. It felt good to stretch our legs. The only thing better was seeing a yellow Mustang parked two cars down. I had to fight my fast approaching smile.

The boys went to get the bags as Jill, Angeline, Zoe and I walked to the door. "Clarence barely uses the upstairs," I explained to Zoe, "So we have the whole floor. You and I will stay in the same room." My sister nodded as I knocked on the door.

A few seconds passed before Adrian opened the door. "What a surprise. A pleasant surprise," he said. I nearly rolled my eyes.

"Zoe, this is Adrian Ivashkov. Mr. Ivashkov, this is Zoe Sage, the other Alchemist assigned to Palm Springs."

Adrian smirked politely- I didn't know someone could politely smirk until now -and said, "Come on Sydney, enough with formalities. You can call me Adrian. You can call me that too," he added looking at Zoe, who seemed like she wanted to disappear. She was also, I noticed, avoiding eye contact. Adrian didn't seem like he minded the lack of a response. Maybe he was expecting it. Either way, he invited us inside.

"Aren't you going to help Eddie and Neil with the bags?" Jill asked, jerking her thumb back to Latte as we walked down the dark hallway.

"Jailbait, Jailbait. As I always say-"

"No manual labor. Got it." Jill rolled her eyes.

I barely payed attention to the exchange. I was watching Zoe. She was taking in the interior of the house with wide eyes, examining every detail while still listening to the conversation. As much as it pained me to say it, she wasn't a bad Alchemist. Not that I'd ever admit that. I would never encourage her to pursue a career with the Alchemists.

We entered the living room and Zoe automatically walked to the armchair in the corner of the room and sat down, sinking back until she was almost invisible. I sat at the corner of the sofa and scooted away from Jill when she sat next to me. I was sad that I couldn't sit next to my friends like I usually would.  
Adrian was standing and leaning against the pool table glancing between me and Zoe. I knew the glint in his eye all too well; he was about to do something to get me ticked. And boy, was I right.

"So, Zoe," Adrian said, "What should I call you?"

**~~~Adrian's POV~~~**

"What do you mean?" Zoe asked cautiously. Man, she really was like her sister. Or at least, like her sister from three months ago. Speaking of her sister... Sage was giving me a slightly horrified and sinister look.

"Everyone here has a nickname," I explained. "Sydney is Sage. Eddie is Castile. Jill's Jailbait. Angeline is... well, I actually haven't made one for her yet." I cast a glance at Angeline, who was standing off to the side. "I have to think of one that she wouldn't beat me up over."

Angeline smiled angelically, which really contradicted her next words. "You're smarter than you look. It'd be easy to beat you into a pulp."

At that moment Neil and Eddie walked in. "What are we discussing?" Neil asked, sitting next to Eddie who had sat next to Jill.

"Nicknames. You're Newbie, by the way," I said cheerfully. Then I turned back to Zoe. "So, what should I call you? I'm deciding between Mini Sage and Alchemist Junior."

Zoe bit her lip and looked at Sydney, which caused her to promptly glare at me. "What?" I exclaimed, "At least I'm asking. That's polite."

Sydney took a deep breath and for a second I thought I'd pushed her a little too far. I've had quite a few close calls with that. Her aura is so weird... different. If I picked on Jill like that, it would take a little while for the red rings of annoyance to grow on her aura. But with Sydney? Man, it's like zero to sixty in a second. Just like now. One minute it's minor annoyance, the next it was full out anger. Sometimes I wondered if she was like that with everyone or if it was just me.

So right before it looked like Sage was gonna put me in my place, Dorothy walked in and called Jill in for her feeding. A few moments after they left the room, Sydney stood up abruptly. "We're going to our room now," she said, grabbing Zoe's hand and heading upstairs. I laughed.

"See you later, Jr.!" I called out after them. Neither one of the Sage sisters even turned around.

"You're going to get it later," I heard Jill say as she walked back into the room and sat where she was before.

I shrugged and occupied the now empty spot next to Jill on the couch. "It was worth it."


	4. Problems

**Do you ever feel like you know what you want from a story but you don't know quite how to get there? That's where I am. Enjoy!**

**(I don't own the Vampire Academy/Bloodlines series')**

"Are you okay?" I asked Zoe as I locked the door to our room. I turned to face her and she was sitting on one of the guest beds. She seemed a little worried. No... that wasn't the right word. She seemed... perplexed.

"I'm fine. It's just," she paused and shook her head. "I never expected them to act so... you know, _human_."

That certainly wasn't what I expected. "Well what did you think they would be like?"

"I don't know. Not like that. They acted like they were normal people. Like people I would see around school."

I hesitated. "Do you want to know how I used to deal with it? With them?" Zoe looked up at me with curiosity.

"Okay. Who's the biggest jerk you've ever met?"

"Byron Moore." My sister wrinkled her nose. "He's such an asshole. He's always ripping people off and making fun of people."

"And compared to him, do the vampires downstairs seem so bad?"

Zoe thought about it. "That's the problem. They don't. I know they're different. They look different and they shouldn't exist! But..." She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know."

I said softly, "How do you feel about that?"

My little sister looked at me, and I saw something change. Her eyes got a steely resolve.  
"I won't let them trick me," she said firmly. "I know what they are, and they aren't corrupting my soul."

I sighed. Zoe mistook it for relief and smiled. "Don't worry Sydney," she said, "I won't let you down." Then she hugged me.

It was so hard to hug her back. I mean, I love my sister, I really do. But every time she looked at me and smiled with such sincerity I felt like I wanted to vomit. I felt dirty for lying. Then again, what was I supposed to do? Leave Adrian again? Then we'd both be miserable, and Jill would get the side affects. I was tired of lying to myself, and I was tired of lying to those closest to me too. Unfortunately, it had to be one or the other.

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, only the choice was simple. I had to keep lying to Zoe to keep everything from falling apart. The hard part was having the strength to do it.  
I stood. "I'm going downstairs for a drink. Do you want anything?" She shook her head. Lacking anything else to say, I walked towards the doorway.

"Sydney?" I heard Zoe call out. I turned. "Who did you use? When you compared someone to vampires, who was it?"

I hesitated. Something told me that saying Keith's name wouldn't be a good idea. Instead I said, "Maybe I'll tell you someday. Lock the door," I added. Closing the door behind me, I sighed again. This was going to be a lot harder that I thought.

I really needed coffee.

A few minutes later I was in the kitchen waiting for my coffee to brew. Clarence's espresso machine was ancient, but it made the best coffee. As I was waiting, I felt someone's arms wrap around my waist. I gasped.

"Your sister does look like you," I heard Adrian whisper in my ear. My heart raced. "She's not as cute though."

Before I could muster a reply, Adrian brought his lips down to my neck, and whatever I had to say was lost. All my attention had turned to wherever his body was touching mine. Electricity spread quickly through my body. Had it really been a day since we were together in person? It felt like so much longer. I tried to get myself back on track.

"You shouldn't have messed with Zoe like that," I muttered. I had hoped to sound more stern, but he was distracting me.

"Why not?" he asked, spinning me around to face him. His green eyes were glimmering and his face had gotten so, so close to mine.

"I- it wasn't nice," I stammered, grasping for something else to say. "She was nervo-"

Adrian cut off my words with his lips, and I didn't protest. Mostly because my focus was all on him now. The taste of his lips, the heat of his touch. My arms went around his waist and my fingers got caught in his hair. Kissing Adrian never got old. It was always a rush of excitement, like a roller coaster. No matter how many time you go on, you always come off feeling breathless.  
It wasn't until I smelled coffee that my synapses started firing and I remembered where I was. I pulled back- oh so slowly -and said, "You're still not off the hook yet."

"I know." He smiled and pulled away. "But I've been waiting all day to do that."

I laughed. "I couldn't tell. Maybe you should be an actor instead of an artist."

"I could go for that. I'd be the next Zac Effron."

"I'd say Johnny Depp. He suits you better."

Adrian chuckled. "I'll give you that one, Sage. How's you're sister holding up?"  
The mention of Zoe instantly dimmed the good mood Adrian had put me in. "Well, she's convinced that all of you are unholy creatures that shouldn't exist. Other than that? She's a little homesick."  
Adrian sighed. "I guess I understand that. But if we're unholy, what's she gonna say about her witch of a sister?"

I groaned. "I have no idea." And I didn't. Recently I've been taking things one at a time. "I guess I'll deal with that when we get to it. Although," I backed up even more and pulled out my phone. "I should probably text Ms. Terwilliger about Zoe later."

"Do you think Zoe has any special powers too? She's your sister, after all."

I looked up at Adrian, surprised that he'd thought of a problem that I hadn't even considered. "I don't know," I said after a moment of thought. "But I'd better get back upstairs. If I'm down here any longer,

Zoe will think that one of you took me as a snack."  
Adrian didn't say anything, but he backed up and leaned on the refrigerator. "We're really not going to be able to spend any time together," he said. "I mean, I know that's what you said but..." Adrian shook his head.

"I'm sorry." I didn't know what else to say. For whatever reason, it gave him a hint of a smile.

"What are you apologizing for?"

I looked at him helplessly. "I don't really know. You just looked so sad-"

Adrian's lips found mine again, but they were gentler this time. The kiss wasn't as intense as our others, but that didn't make it less amazing. This time, it was him who pulled away first.

"We'll be fine," he said, kissing my forehead and walking behind me. I turned and watched him pour my coffee into a mug and add non-fat milk.

"I never knew you were paying attention to how I make my coffee," I said.

"I pay attention to everything you do." Adrian handed me the mug. "_You_ were the one who wasn't paying attention." I stuck my tongue out at him. He just grinned as I turned around to leave. "Sydney?"

I glanced behind me. "Where do you want to go tonight in the dream?"

I smiled and made my way up the stairs. "Surprise me," I called out.

I just hoped it would be a good surprise and not some strip club. Sometimes with Adrian you could never really tell.


	5. Perfection

I sighed again as Sydney went up the stairs. Is it weird to say that I already missed her? I don't think so, considering we weren't going to get any alone time whatsoever now that Zoe was here.

It's strange to think that Sydney was really that uptight when I met her. I didn't think she was. Then again, she did spend a lot of time with Rose and her Russian boyfriend before I'd gotten a chance to talk to her. And before that, she destroyed Strigoi bodies for a living. I guess she's had a while to loosen up. Zoe's only been here a day.

I reached for my pocket for a cigarette and for a minute, I was confused about why I didn't have any. Then I remembered my bet with Jill.

_"If Sydney actually _does_ break your little GPS code, I don't want to see you smoking for two weeks. Okay?"_

I swore and ran my fingers through my hair. It occurred to me now that maybe Jill already knew that Sage wouldn't leave. Women's intuition or whatever. Or maybe she just knew Sydney as well as I do. Either way, I was going to have to adapt to a nicotine free way of life for a while. And with the bond, Jailbait would know if I tried to sneak.

I cursed again. I couldn't wait until I learned to block Jill out. I knew that Lissa could do it with Rose, but only for short amounts of time and it took a lot of concentration. And although Jill and I had made some progress, we still weren't there yet.

I made my way to the living room, where I thought the party was going to be. Apparently not. Everyone except Jailbait was gone. Seeing my confused expression, Jill explained, "They all went up to unpack."

I sat down next to her. "Then why are you still here?"

Jill grinned. "Do you really think I want to be in a room with Angeline while she's using scissors to cut the packing tape?"

"I wouldn't," I said and leaned back. "I have a question," I declared.

"I might have an answer. What's up?" she said and turned towards me.

"How long do you think it'll be until Sage's sister can get... comfortable around here?"

Jill studied me. "You mean around us?" I nodded. "I'm not really sure. I tried talking to her at Amberwood, but she would barely even look at me."

"I know. I mean, I knew she thought we were evil, but not that evil."

Jill laughed. "That's because the only human- no, the only _Alchemist_- you talk to is Sydney, and she's in love with you."

"I'll have you know, Jailbait," I said, "I'm pretty sure I can win over humans just as easily as I could some girl back at court."

"Noted," she said, just as Eddie walked in.

"Guys, the Chinese food is here," he said, heading towards the kitchen for plates and utensils. We'd ordered food since apparently Clarence's meals are delivered now ever since Lee's... departure. The old man had actually been really depressed lately, enough that he gives Dorothy days off while he just lies in bed doing nothing. Nothing seems to be cheering him up, either. So because Dorothy doesn't cook food for Clarence anymore, we ordered out. I personally wanted pizza, but I lost the majority vote. I had said since I'm a royal, my vote should count twice. But then Jill pointed out that she has a higher status than me.

So all of a sudden she's embracing this whole "princess" thing.

I was kind of looking forward to having dinner with Sage. Not possible, though. She just grabbed the food for her and her sister and went right back upstairs. But she did shoot me a small smile that made my heart beat faster, which almost made it worth it.

Dinner was pretty uneventful. Jill asked Neil about his life and career and I got confirmation that he is, in fact, as boring as I thought. Eddie and Angeline were pretty quiet. Jill had told me what went down between them, and honestly? It sounded all too familiar.

Before I knew it, I was walking into my apartment, flipping the light switch to on. I looked around. The place was exactly how I left it: colorful. My paintings were on easels that I had made into a semi-circle so I could look at them all at once. I smiled.

If I couldn't hang out with Sydney in person, I could at least hang out with my paintings of her.

I didn't spend too much time in my living room. I touched up a painting I was working on before heading to bed. All the while I was thinking, _What would make Sydney happy_?

I had to take her somewhere special in the dream. Somewhere that would make her feel... I don't know. Happy. At peace. But it had to be somewhere special, just for Sydney. It couldn't be a place that I would take any random girl.

And really, Sydney Sage was unlike any other girl I've ever met, human or otherwise. There were just so many amazing things about her. For one, she's smart. Like, super smart. I could imagine her winning Jeopardy one day and moving to Rome. Hopefully she would take me with her.

Then there were her looks. She's beautiful. I'm not saying that I fell for her just because she's pretty, but it didn't hurt that she was easy on the eyes. And she doesn't even realize it. Sydney strives to make herself better when she's already the picture of perfection. Not just her looks, either. She's so passionate, so brave. So strong. Sydney is always trying to help others, putting their needs above her own. Sometimes she was just-

My cell phone interrupted my thoughts, which was just as well. I could go on all night about what made Sydney great. I checked my newest message.

_New message from: Jailbait_

_Could u try not thinking about Syd. So intensely? Thanks._ :P

I snorted._ Unlikely_, I texted back.

Now then. Back to the more pressing issue. Where to take Sage.  
It had to be a place that we've been to before in real life. Malibu? No, we were just there. Court? Nah, she wouldn't like that. How about...

Suddenly the perfect place flashed into my mind. I smiled and looked at the clock. 10:57.

_Please be asleep,_ I thought as I closed my eyes and tried to touch her mind.

Let's just hope I don't blind the dragon this time.


	6. Golf

**Please note: This chapter is pure fluff. It's pretty much something to fill the space, but still really cute. Remember to review!**

I managed to fall asleep easier in Clarence's house than in my dorm room. And after what felt like a few moments of peaceful slumber, I felt myself being pulled into a spirit dream. Where to, Adrian? I thought to myself as a scene formed around me. When I recognized where I was, I blinked. Twice. A third time.

And then I couldn't stop laughing.

Adrian had brought me to the mini-golf course we had gone to with Jill, Eddie and Lee a few months ago, complete with the waterfall and the Dragon's Lair. The whole place was exactly as I remembered it. He even made the dragon's eye dented from his last attempt at mini-golf.

Speaking of attempts... no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop laughing. It was uncontrollable. Every time I thought I calmed down enough, I would look up to see Adrian grinning and I'd start back up again.

"Damn, Sage," Adrian chuckled. "If I knew you liked this place so much I would've brought you here months ago." He was wearing shorts his AYE shirt. Seeing that stupid pirate wasn't helping me stop my laughter.

Somehow I managed to calm my laughter long enough to give a response. "Good memories. Besides, what's not to like?"

"With you here with me, I can't think of a single thing." He held out his hand, and two golf clubs materialized. "Wanna knock some balls into a few holes?"

I giggled again, and it occurred to me that Adrian was probably one of the only people on the planet who's heard me laugh like that. "You ask like you have a chance at beating me," I said, stepping forward and taking a club.

"Oh, I know I don't. You're too good. But I figured you would enjoy kicking my ass."

"Well, I wouldn't put it into those terms, specifically..."

This time it was Adrian who laughed. "Of course not."  
We started off at the Dragon's Lair course, and neither of us acknowledged that I got a hole in one. "You know," I said, leaning in to look at the dragon, "Now that I think about it, this kind of looks like Hopper."

Adrian smirked. "No talking about the kid on a date, Sage." I rolled my eyes. "Besides, you're distracting me from my perfect shot." He lined up his shot and swung.

I'll give him credit; the shot was pretty powerful. And it wasn't_ that_ far off. But the golf ball missed, launched into the dragon's _other_ eye, and landed in the waterfall.

For a moment, we just stood there in stunned silence. But once we made eye contact, there was no stopping our hysterics.

"Oh... God..." Adrian snickered, "That was... the best."

"I didn't even know that was possible!" I exclaimed.

Adrian's laughter subsided and he gave me a devilish grin. "Are you going to go in and get it?"

"Go in that?" I said, gesturing to the waterfall. "I'd get my clothes wet."

"Something tells me that's not the real reason you don't want to go in," he retorted. "But if that's how you want to play it, fine by me."

Suddenly, I felt... exposed. I looked down and gasped._ "ADRIAN!"_ I screamed.

Adrian had decided to put me in a red, backless one-piece bathing suit. The swimsuit clung tightly to my body, and I squirmed. "What the hell?"

He laughed again. "And here I thought my night couldn't get any better. First I get to make you laugh, then I see you in a bathing suit. And then," he stepped closer, pulling me into him, "I got to hear Sydney Sage _swear_."

My breathing quickened as he got closer to me. "You seem proud of yourself," I said, never taking my eyes off of his deep green ones.

"Not yet," Adrian said. Then, with the reflexes that no human could ever possess, Adrian bent down, grabbed me by my legs, and threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

_"Adrian Ivashkov!"_ I tried to squirm out of his grasp, but it was no use. "Put me down_ now!"_

He laughed. "As you wish," he said. And then he dropped me in the waterfall.

Swimming isn't a problem for me. I learned how from my mom, and she, Zoe, Carly and I went to the beach at least once every summer until I became an Alchemist. We raced, horsed around, and just had fun. It was one part of my childhood that I truly enjoyed. So no, swimming wasn't the issue here.

The issue was that I was thrown into an ice cold waterfall from six feet. Even if the fountain was deep enough that I had to stand on my tip-toes to hold my head above the water, the fall was disorienting. I rushed to the surface, gasping for breath. "It's c-cold!" I sputtered.

Adrian grinned again. "I can make it colder, if you want." He leaned forward and put his hands on the base of the structure. "Or I could make it a hot tu- Ah!"

As Adrian was speaking, I was swimming towards him slowly. Then, in his most unsuspecting moment, I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the water with me. Adrian quickly came to the surface. And while I could barely stand in the water, Adrian was only chest deep.

He did a spit take, the kind that you only see on 90s cartoons. "Goddamn it Sage," Adrian growled, "You got my AYE shirt wet."

And then, Adrian wasn't in his AYE shirt. In fact, he wasn't wearing a shirt at all. He was now in a pair of black men's swim trunks, ones that suited him perfectly. But I might have just thought that because it meant that I got to see Adrian Ivashkov shirtless. And let me tell you, that was a sight to see. Looking at him, I felt like I'd just discovered another wonder of the world. I don't think I could've continued my life without that moment of seeing Adrian's bare chest.

"Hello? Earth to Sage."  
Adrian's voice pulled me out of my thoughts and made me realize that I had actually been staring at him for a while. "Sorry, what?" I asked, a blush creeping to my cheeks.

If Adrian noticed my embarrassment, he didn't show it. "I just wanted to know if you're okay."

That confused me. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Adrian shrugged and said, "I don't know. It's just... you're aura keeps flickering. Everything is. i mean, it's still shinning brighter that I've ever seen it, but it's like... like..." Suddenly Adrian groaned.

"What's wrong?" I asked, still not really sure what was happening.

"It's not you, it's someone outside trying to wake one of us up." Adrian sighed and sunk lower into the water. "The dream's probably gonna end soon."

I tried, and failed, to hide my disappointment. "Well, it's not over yet," I said, swimming forward and wrapping my arms around Adrian's neck, my legs around his waist. I pushed my lips into his gently, then harder. I didn't want the dream to end. Not so soon.

Adrian's body responded to mine, and soon I was sitting on the base of the waterfall and his hands were on my waist. As the dream dissolved, our bodies were still wrapped around each other.

I wouldn't have it any other way


	7. Pain

**So originally, Sydney's POV wasn't going to be in this chapter. But then, after I started writing it, it just seemed to kind of... flow, i guess? Whatever. Enjoy!**

~~~Adrian's POV~~~

I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings.

I was still in my bed, which was no surprise. I groaned and sat up, rubbing my temples. Recently, I've been getting headaches after spirit dreams. I mean, spirit has always taken it's toll on me, but the headaches had been getting a little more... intense. Maybe I could call Lissa or Sonya about it later.

I looked around my room. My alarm clock read 2:53 AM, about five hours before I usually wake up. Perfect. My sheets were a little messier than when I first went to sleep, too. I've had many girls tell me how restless I am in and out of bed. Not that any of them mattered now. Not with the way I felt about-

An earsplitting shriek disturbed my thoughts. I jumped up and grabbed the baseball bat I kept behind my night stand. It's not a silver stake, but it comes in handy when needed. "Hello?" I called out, nervous. Was someone breaking in?

Another screech filled the air, louder, and this time I recognized the noise that had woken me up. I dropped the bat and smacked my forehead.

I had forgotten to feed the dragon.

"I'm coming," I yelled, praying that my assurances would quiet Hopper. On the contrary, now that he realized I was awake, the creature seemed to scream even louder. And longer. It made me want to cut off my ears. Maybe Van Gogh had a mini dragon, too.

"Shut up!" I ran into the living room and stopped dead in my tracks. "What the hell?!" I cried as I took in the scene.

Hopper was gnawing on one of my paintings of Sydney, chewing the canvas in tiny bites. The dragon looked up at me and- I swear to God or whoever you choose to believe in this is true- he _grinned_ at me.

"Oh, that's it!" I muttered, walking towards Hopper. The little bastard's smart, I'll give you that. He saw me coming towards him and immediately scurried under beaten up, plaid couch. I got to my knees and looked under it. I saw Hopper, but my supremely muscular arm couldn't reach it. "Get out of there!" I yelled, standing up. I ran my fingers through my hair. Part of me wanted to jump on the sofa, but it would probably fall apart right under me. Instead, I went to the closet and got a broom. And yeah, you heard right: Adrian Ivashkov owns a broom.

I didn't even buy it. Sydney had gotten it and a few other things (a mop, a dustpan, an iron, etc.) as housewarming presents. I hadn't even used it yet. But hey, desperate times.

I took the black broom out of my closet and got back on my knees next to the couch. I started swatting it underneath it, and it didn't take long for the dragon to pop out of the other side. I grabbed him by the tail triumphantly. "Ah ha!" I shouted, feeling pretty damn proud of myself. With good reason, too.

I walked to the kitchen and put Hopper into a plastic tupper ware that I had stabbed a hole into the top of. Hey, he's gotta breath, right? I quickly added a slice of the pecan pie Sydney and I had gotten from Pies and Stuff and put the cap back on. Hopper looked at me for a few more seconds before running over to the pie and taking tiny bites. I sighed. Disaster averted.

I went back to the living room and surveyed the damages. Hopper had been chewing one of my favorite paintings of Sydney that had been inspired by her fight with Alicia. I shuddered at the memory of Sydney, my Sage, lying on the floor, surrounded my fire. It caused me pain to think about it, much less paint it. So, I painted her from a different perspective.

The painting showed Sydney as if I'd taken a picture from behind Alicia's head, so you could see some of Alicia's hair and part of her glasses on the side. Then in front of her, was Sydney, holding a white fireball. Fire was already starting to devour the house, so I added smoke and haze to the painting. It was perfect.

Or, at least, it was until the "creature of Hell" (Sydney's words) started using it as a midnight snack.  
I sighed. I guess it was kind of my fault that I didn't feed him. And on the bright side, Hopper only ate the part of the picture with Alicia's head. I guess he had a grudge from when she kicked him.

And actually, the painting didn't look half bad. I mean yeah, I'd have to cut off the bite marks so no one would think I was chewing on my canvas, but it sort of added to the suspenseful effect. What if...

Inspiration hit, and I smiled and put the painting back where it was. I dug in my pocket until I found what I was looking for. My lighter.

I looked at the painting and smiled again. This was gonna be epic.

~~~Sydney's POV~~~  
I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings.

For a second I was confused. Why wasn't I in my dorm? I sat up and looked around. Oh right, I thought, Winter break. Zoe. Clarence's.

I reached out and took my phone from the night stand to check the time. 2:52 AM.

Groaning, I laid back down on the bed. Why couldn't the dream just last a little longer? I rubbed my eyes and was surprised to find tears in them. Had I been crying?

When was the last time I cried? I couldn't remember. Sure, I've had tears in my eyes that had occasionally spilled over, but I didn't remember the last time I had breaking-down-runny-nose-tears-running-down-your-f ace crying. It's been a while.

I don't like to cry, for a few reasons. For one, it gives me a pounding headache. And I've always felt like I shouldn't cry. I_ couldn't_ cry. I always have people depending on me. That's just the Alchemist way of life. If I cry, I'm letting people down.

Anyway, I doubted I'd been really crying in my sleep. My eyes were probably just really dry, and tears came when I started touching them. No big deal.

I turned my head and saw Zoe in the bed next to mine, her tattoo shining as only new Alchemist ink does. For some reason, that made me really want to burst into tears. I'd spent all that time trying to protect Zoe from her fate, but it didn't make a difference. Pain shot through my heart when the truth hit me: _I had failed her._

Taking a deep, shaky breath, I closed my eyes again.

I wasn't going to cry. Not tonight.


	8. Early

~~~Sydney's POV~~~

The next day, I woke up to a buzz of activity. It was Christmas Eve.

I'd woken at around 7:00. I hadn't really been able to get much sleep after the dream. To my surprise, Zoe was up as well. She had her reading lamp on and was brushing her hair.

"What are you doing up?" I asked groggily. Back home, Zoe never got out of bed before nine.

My sister looked up and smiled. "It's Christmas Eve, remember?"

"Right," I said as it occurred to me. Another thought came to me a few seconds later. "Is this your first Christmas away from home?"

Zoe thought about it. "I guess," she said. "Although, you were in Russia last year and Carly was in college, so it wasn't really even Christmas."

I felt a pang of guilt. In the Sage house, Christmas was usually an Alchemist affair. Our father would take us to a service and we would put up our fake tree. No decorations were allowed; not in an Alchemist house.

Our mom was the only thing that made it bearable. She would make us hot chocolate and give us beautifully wrapped presents behind Dad's back. She was the only reason Christmas was our favorite holiday.

"So do you think we can go Christmas shopping today?" Zoe asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Wouldn't that ruin my surprise?" I asked, smiling a bit. These were the kind of conversation I enjoyed with Zoe. Nice, normal topics, not Alchemist mottos.

Zoe thought about it. "Maybe. But it's not like we didn't always know what Mom got us before hand anyway." That much was true. Our mom might have been able to hide out presents from the close-minded Dad, but she didn't stand a chance against three determined girls.

I laughed. "I sort of already got your gift," I said. Zoe raised her eyebrows. "It's a habit," I explained. "When I see something that I think someone else would want, I buy it. That way I'm not blind sided by unknown birthdays or weddings. I was going to send it to you yesterday, but you were already here."

Zoe stared at me in stunned silence before laughing out loud. "Oh, Sydney," she said, smiling, "You really haven't changed."

Oh, if only she knew.

Her laughter ended abruptly. "Wait. Should I buy gifts for..." Zoe didn't finish, but she nodded in the hallway's direction. My heart rate increased.

_What do I say?_ I thought. If I told her yes, then she would think I was friends with the 'enemy'. Never mind that I actually was, that wasn't the point. But if I said no, how would I explain the presents_ I_ had bought for everyone? I made a snap decision.

"You don't have to," I said, hoping I sounded like I didn't care. "It's not required. I got them gifts, though."

Zoe's jaw dropped. "What? Why?"

"They've been nice to me," I said. "I mean, I don't really want to be here, and they know that. They could made my life horrible while we're here. But they don't. Their nice. Polite. Respectful. So this is how I pay them back. Plus, I'm pretty sure they got me presents too, and I don't want to be rude..." I trailed off. I'd been rambling. I guess I do spend a little too much time around Jill.

My little sister was quiet for a moment. With every passing second, I felt more and more uneasy.

"I suppose... that makes sense," Zoe said. I nearly sagged with relief.

"I'll tell you what," I said, "I'll give you the keys to Latte and you can enjoy a day off. Mom finished teaching you how to drive, right?" Our mother was just teaching Zoe how to drive automatic when I was sent to Palm Springs. That should've been plenty of time for my youngest sister to feel comfortable behind the wheel.

Zoe grinned and rolled her eyes. For a second she reminded me of Adrian. The way their minds could switch gears so easily made my head spin. "Of course! She just finished teaching me how to drive stick, too. But are you sure you can't come?"

I shook my head. "One of us has to make sure no one gets into trouble here." Zoe looked like she was about say something, but I continued. "Really Zoe, it's fine. This is your first time in the field. I want it to be as easy as possible."

My little sister bit her lip and nodded. She stood up and was, to my astonishment, already dressed it a green button down top and blue shorts. She looked nice. "I think I'm going to leave now. Lots of stores are open early today." Tying her hair into a ponytail, Zoe said, "Keys." When she was done with her hair, I got the keys out of my pocket and tossed them to her. She caught them without hesitation and headed towards the door.

"Zoe?" I said quietly. My sister turned to look at me. "Even though I'm your superior, I'm still your sister. We can still... you know, hang out."

Zoe gave me a sad smile. "Maybe." Then she shut the door.

I waited a few minutes until I heard Latte drive off. Five seconds later, I was running down the stairs. I found Eddie and Jill sitting on the floor in the living room. There was a big cardboard box in between them, and Angeline was nowhere in sight.

"Why does everyone get up early on holidays?" I wondered aloud, walking past them and plopping myself onto the leather sofa.

Jill smiled at me. "Not everyone. Angeline refuses to come out of our room until at least noon."

"That sounds like her," I said. "So what are the two of you up to together so early? _Alone?_"

I saw Jill's cheeks start to grow red. "We were going to start putting up Clarence's fake tree," she said. "He has decorations too. Do you want to help?"

I hesitated. "I don't know... I've never decorated a tree before..."

Eddie and Jill seemed stunned. "Aren't you Christian?" Eddie asked, looking slightly amused.

"Decorating trees wasn't originally a Christmas tradition," I informed them. "But because it was done around the same time as Christmas celebrations, Christians adopted it."

More stunned silence. "What?" I asked, confused. "It's true."

Eddie started laughing, and Jill sighed. "Well, you're helping anyway." I started to object, but she cut me off. "Zoe went shopping for the day, didn't she?"

"Yeah..." I said.

"So why not?" Eddie asked, raising his eyebrows.

I looked at the box for a few moments before sighing and sliding from the couch to the floor. They knew I didn't have an argument since Zoe wasn't here. "Okay, you broke me," I said. "So what are we doing first?"

Jill gave me a mischievous smile that I didn't understand. "We have to stand up the fake tree." Then she looked at my attire.

"You might want to put on long sleeves."


	9. Explanation

~~~Sydney's POV~~~

I soon learned why Jill had suggested long sleeves. The pine needles, though fake, scratched up and down my arms. By the time we finally finished setting up the tree half an hour later, Eddie, Jill and I had white streaked, irritated arms and plastic pine needles in our hair.

Jill stood up from the sofa. Eddie and I were sitting on the floor. We had been taking a well deserved ten minute break. "I'm going to go get the decorations," she said, smiling. Eddie looked like he was going to offer to do it, but Jill was already halfway up the stairs. A few moments of silence passed before I got to my feet.

"I'm going to make some coffee," I said, stretching my arms above my head and walking towards the kitchen. "Do you want anything?"

Eddie thought about it. "What I want is to know why you're so freaked out by your sister being here."

I had been turning on the coffee maker when he said that. His words caused me to freeze. "What do you mean?" I asked, hoping to sound innocent.

"You know what I mean," he said, obviously not buying it. "You double check yourself before you speak. You try not to smile when one of us makes a joke. Something's going on, and I want to know what."

For once, I hated Eddie's attentiveness. Couldn't he let anything slide?

"It's nothing," I said, tapping my finger anxiously waiting for my caffeine.

"It's not 'nothing'," he said, clearly getting frustrated. I turned and saw him running he is fingers through his hair. "Does it have something to do with the Alchemists? Did they send Zoe here to keep an eye on you or something?"

I thought about lying but just didn't have the energy. "Something like that," I said.

Eddie stood and walked towards me. The living room and the kitchen were right next to each other, and he was behind me in a flash. "Why?" he asked.

I didn't want Eddie to be concerned. In fact, I didn't want any of the "Melroses" to find out about re-education centers. Our focus was on Jill, not me. And yet... part of me wanted to tell him. I trusted Eddie, without a doubt. But I didn't want to risk saying anything that could get any one of us in trouble.

"I'm waiting," he said, crossing his arms. I sighed.

"Well, you see..." I bit my lip. How was I supposed to explain this? "Alchemists... aren't supposed to care about you guys. Moroi, dhampir, it doesn't matter. We were taught from a very young age to be afraid of you."

Eddie frowned. "But we're not dangerous. I mean, some vampires are bad people, but so are some humans. I mean, look at the Warriors!"

"I know," I assured him. "I agree. Some others do, too. Like Marcus and his Merry Men? None of them have any bad feelings towards the Moroi or dhampir. That's why they left."

I paused, partially hoping that Eddie would drop it now even though I didn't fully answer his question. With no such luck, I continued.

"Alchemists aren't supposed to like you guys. They shouldn't be so at ease around you. And they certainly shouldn't help dhampir fugitives escape capture."

Eddie said, "So your saying they thing you're untrustworthy because you helped Rose?"

"Sort of." I looked towards the stairs to make sure Jill wasn't coming back from the attic yet. "Eddie, I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone what I'm about to say unless you have to. Okay?"

My fake brother looked hesitant, but nodded. I continued before I could change my mind.

"After I helped Rose, the Alchemists wanted to send me to a place called a 're-education center'. It's where... it's where they take people who are too close to vampires so they can... set them straight." I took a deep breath before I continued. "I've only seen one person after they got out of a re-education center. He looked... drained. Like he was dead inside. I don't know what exactly goes on in there, but they brainwash you into believing every thing they tell you." I could barely get the next words out, and they left my mouth in a whisper. "It's every Alchemist's worst nightmare."

We were both silent for a few seconds. "Could how you behave here," Eddie said slowly, "Would that be enough to get you there?"

I gave a harsh laugh. "You could say that. The fact that I didn't spring for a hotel instead of stay here would be enough for them to remove me from Palm Springs."

The coffee maker dinged, and I turned around and poured myself a cup. When I faced Eddie again, his eyes had a mixture of sadness and determination.

"You know we wouldn't let them take you," he said strongly. "Me, Jill, Adrian, Rose, Dimitri... Hell, even Angeline. We'd all break down the doors to whatever dungeon they would keep you and bust you out."

I felt tears come to my eyes, and I blinked them back. "Thank you," I whispered.

Just then, Jill came bouncing down the stairs with two boxes of decorations, looking happier than she had when she went to get them. I hastily wiped away my tears as Eddie and I joined her in the living room.

"I'm back!" she said in a sing-song voice. "Who wants to decorate a tree?"

Eddie and I looked at each other and smiled. "Me," I said, reaching into the plastic box and pulling out a star-shaped ornament.

~~~Eddie's POV~~~

I felt helpless.

True, Sydney wasn't my priority. It wasn't my job or duty to protect her, and I owed her no real favors. But that didn't mean I didn't care about her.

I wasn't exaggerating when I said that Sydney was like a sister to me. She really was. Sydney listened when I ranted, she gave me advice, she talked to me like a person. We're good friends.

So knowing she was in danger and I wasn't able to help? Not fun.

I could also see the way Sydney was shaking when she talked about re-education centers. Her hands, her voice, were wobbly. She was scared to death. The fact that Sydney, who faced down a group of vampire hunters alone and went face to face with Strigoi, was that scared? I couldn't even imagine what they could do to someone in there.

And there was nothing I could do.

I don't like being helpless. Ever since the incident in Spokane, I haven't been able to just sit by and watch anything, even if I wanted to. And right now, I wanted to help Sydney. I just didn't know how.

When I started questioning her, I thought it was going to lead to talking about her and Adrian. They so _obviously_ had feelings for each other. Although maybe it was only obvious to me because of my guardian trained eye and how well I know both of them. It didn't really matter.

Talking about Adrian can wait. Protecting Sydney from the Alchemists trumped their nontraditional love. At least, it did for now.

Meanwhile, Jill was still my top priority.

**A/N: So originally, this chapter was going in a completely different direction. But somehow, the fluff i had imagined in my head turned into... this? Oh well, that's just what happened. The next chapter will probably be pretty fluffy, but no promises. Also, this was a rare occurrence where I felt like you had to get a little "outside perspective", which is why I gave you guys a bit of Eddie POV. I'll try not to do that too often.**

**Also, the Christmas chapter is coming up. Does anyone know what Sydney could give to Angeline, Adrian and/or Zoe? I'm kind of stuck on that. Remember to review!**


	10. SAGE

~~~Adrian's POV~~~

I pulled up to Clarence's house at around nine o'clock in the morning, per Jill's informative phone call a half an hour earlier. I seriously owed her one.

I was just finishing my... ah, _alterations_ to my painting when she called. Jill had been pretty quick to get to the point.

_"Zoe's going to be gone most of the day and we're putting up the Christmas tree. Come over."_

And so I did. Because who am I to deny them the presence of Adrian Ivashkov?

I walked up the pathway and knocked on the door. Repeatedly. The sun was starting to work its way across the sky, and I really didn't want to be outside when it was at full blaze.

After about twenty seconds, the door opened and I was looking into the golden-brown eyes that dominated my dreams. I grinned.  
"What are you doing here?" Sydney asked, furrowing her eyebrows. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. How was that the first thing she said when she saw me?

"Nice to see you too," I said, sliding past her and into the hallway. I spun to face her again.

"You know that's not what I meant." Sydney blushed, and for a moment I lost my train of thought. "What if Zoe was here?" she asked. I shook my head, getting back on track.

"First of all," I said, putting up one finger, "I know no such thing. Second, Jill called and said you had room for one more in your little party." Sydney still looked a little shocked, and a little part of me started to worry. "What, don't you want to see me?" I asked, keeping my tone light.

If possible, her cheeks turned even more red. "Of course I do!" she exclaimed. "But..."

"But?"

"I didn't get to wrap your present yet."

I burst out laughing. "It's not funny!" she exclaimed.

"You're right, you're right. It's hilarious."

Sydney crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at me. Oh God, she was just so cute. I leaned forward and kissed her, just a small peck on her lips. That alone was enough to send shockwaves through me.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," I murmured, pulling away. Sydney looked up at me, staring. Analyzing. It was like her eyes were piercing my soul, searching for the truth. After a few seconds, she nodded and turned around, hurrying down the hallway. I sighed and followed her. That's when I noticed some fake pine needles in her hair.

"You've got a little..." I trailed off and pulled some of them out of her hair. Sydney just sighed and continued walking.

When we got to the living room, I saw Eddie and Jill finish putting some lights on the Christmas tree. Eddie plugged it in, and the tree lit up in colorful blinking lights. Jill cheered, and Sydney cracked another smile.

Eddie looked up and noticed me for the first time. "Oh, hey Adrian," he said. "You here to help?"

I was about to remind him of my "laziness" policy when Sydney said, "Yeah, he is." I shot her a questioning look, and she sent me a cold one back that made me rethink my position.

"I suppose," I said slowly, and she smiled.

Sydney declared, "I'm going upstairs to wrap some presents. I'll be back in five minutes. Don't get any ideas." That last comment was directed towards me.

"Trouble, Sage?" I said earnestly. "_Moi?_"

That earned a giggle from Jill and eye-rolls from Sydney and Eddie. Sydney went upstairs.

"So," I started as I picked up a red ball-shaped ornament and hung it on the tree, "Who knows what Sydney got us for Christmas?"

The room was silent.

"Come on, guys!" I exclaimed. "What about our agreement?"

Eddie, Jill, Angeline and I had made a pact about two weeks ago. It all started when Sydney told us that they were going to be staying over at Clarence's for break. Angeline had made a comment about being able to tear the house apart to find our presents, and Sydney responded simply with, "You can try." She sounded smug.

Too smug.

This sparked the formation of Stealthily Accumulate our Gifts by the Eve Alliance, or S.A.G.E. Alliance for short. Clever, right? Jill was responsible for checking Sydney's gym locker, Eddie looked in her car, Angeline in her room, and I searched Clarence's. I told them three days ago that I had come up empty.

The dhampir shrugged his shoulders and dug around in the box for an ornament that was to his liking. "What do you want us to say? It's_ Sydney._"

I frowned. "Are you saying you're giving up, Castile? Because I don't tolerate that sort of thing."

At that, he snorted and Jill giggled again. I realized that might not have been the best choice of words. "At least," I added hastily, "I don't tolerate that from you."

"Hey, you didn't find anything either!" Jill said, still smiling.

"Well, that's because they weren't in this house. But don't worry," I said, "We can still find them."

Jill raised her eyebrows. "How? It's Christmas Eve, and we can't get into Sydney's room. Especially now that Zoe's here."

"Well, we'll just have to find a-"

Before I could continue, I heard Sydney coming down the stairs again and quickly shut my mouth. When she finally got to the living room, her eyes looked around, stopping at the Christmas tree and then turning to me. "I thought you said you'd help!" she said, putting her hands on her hips. Her trying to give me the evil eye with my superior height was really something to see. "It doesn't look like you've been doing anything."

"I have so!" I said, pointing to the red ball that now hung on the tree. "See this one? Mine."

"So what you're saying is that I'm gone for five minutes and you put up one ornament?"

"You can't rush perfection, Sage. My mom took nine months to get me right."

"And who said you were perfect?"

"Well, as I recall, you were the one that said I was brilliant."

Sydney scoffed. "First of all," she said, mimicking my tone from before, "That's not what I said. And second, brilliance isn't the same as perfection."

She would know. Sydney was always brilliant and perfect. I didn't say that, though. Maybe I would if we were alone, but I'd probably get in trouble if I said it in front of Eddie. I'm pretty sure he already knew about Sydney and I, but I wasn't gonna push it.

Jill cleared her throat. "We should get back to the decorations," she said.

I tore my eyes from Sydney and smiled at Jill. "Of course, Jailbait," I said. Jill smiled. From the corner of my eye, I saw Sydney approach me.

"Well, there's your Christmas spirit!" Sydney said, grabbing silver tinsel and sprinkling it on my head.

"Hey!" I cried in over-dramatic horror, trying to pull some out. "My hair!"

Sydney's face broke out into a grin. "You've got a little..." she said, pulling tinsel from my hair.  
I grabbed some gold tinsel from the bag and threw it at Sydney's face. She gasped and ducked, letting it hid Eddie in the face. It got all over his hair and even in his mouth.

"Sorry, Castile," I said, making a point not to sound too sorry. He looked up at me and gave me an evil grin.

"Not yet," he said, grabbing a bag of red and green tinsel. "But you will be."

**A/N: I really hope you guys liked this chapter! Also, I have a good idea for the gifts, but please keep reviewing and giving suggestions. Thanks!**


	11. Aura Code

**So this isn't really a new chapter (sorry if I got your hopes up!) but I thought it was kind of necessary. Everyone who writes a Bloodlines fan-fiction seems to have their own ideas of the colors in auras, and it can get kind of confusing. So I decided to make a little cheat sheet so we can all remember. PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS ****_NOT_**** AN ACTUAL REFERENCE TO THE BOOKS. This is my own personal code, and has not been confirmed by Richelle Mead.**

**Aura Code**

Yellow~ Smart, analytical

Purple~ Passionate, love deeply

Red~ annoyance

Deep red~ anger; short tempered

Orange~nervous, anxious

Flash of orange~ lie/stress

Green~ pride, selfishness

Dark green~ self-consciousness

Light blue~ happy, peaceful

Flash of light blue~ surprise

Dark blue~ fear

Flash of dark blue~ pain

Gray~ numbness, shock

Black/darkness~ fear, pain, regret, hatred, spirit side-effects

Flash of darkness~ guilt, regret

Blurry aura~ Diluted w/ drugs or alcohol

**The new chapter will be up tomorrow or Friday. You'll read a little about auras in there, so I figured this would be a good thing to post. See you guys soon!**


	12. Aftermath

~~~Adrian's POV~~~

By the end of the Great Tinsel Battle, I felt _really_ bad that Dorothy was going to have to clean up out mess.

Somewhere along the way we had formed teams, with Eddie and Jill on one side of the room and me and Sydney on the other. Angeline had joined us briefly about halfway through. She walked in, bleary eyed and tired, and when she saw all of us throwing tinsel and yelling battle cries, she spun on her heel and went right back upstairs.

Sucks for her, missing out on all of the Christmas fun.

By the time we were out of tinsel about a half an hour later, we were all laughing and breathless on the floor. I lied back onto the rug and sighed in content. "We haven't had a family bonding time like that in a while," I said with a smile.

Sydney stood up and surveyed the room. "Well the good news is that we got the tinsel on the tree." I followed her gaze and noticed that the tree was, in fact, evenly covered with multi-colored tinsel. Cool. "The bad news: We've totally trashed Clarence's living room." I looked around some more and bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. We had somehow managed to get tinsel all over the living room. And I mean every nook and cranny. Something tells me that in a few years if you reach into the sofa cushions, you'll find some silver string.

"Worth it," I said, looking up at her. Even now, Sydney was grinning. Curiosity got the better of me, and I opened myself up to spirit.

I can always see auras to a certain degree. Normally though, the colors kind of blend together. You really don't understand the full emotions of someone's aura unless you give a part of yourself over to spirit. For some reason it doesn't let in as much darkness as spirit dreams, compulsion or healing. I try not to question that too much, but I guess it's because everything living has an aura. Seeing what's natural to all living things isn't as big of a deal as entering someone's subconscious mind or healing an injury.

Or, at least, that's the theory.

Usually, whatever I need to see is clear on Sydney's face. I don't look at her aura very often. But... something in the way Sydney was grinning made me want to take a peek at her aura. Just for a second.

I blinked slowly and looked at her again. I could feel my eyes widen.

Sydney's aura was... _whoa._

Like always, her base color was a golden yellow, which meant smart and analytical. Every aura has a base color reflecting their natural personality, so of course Sydney's is yellow. The bands of purple were a lot more prominent now than when she opened the door for me a little while ago. There were also a few specks of light blue, meaning she was happy. Relaxed. And I could probably count on my fingers the amount of times I've seen Sydney Sage fully relaxed (not including when we were kissing, of course).

But at that moment, Sydney's aura was shining brighter than it had been in a long time. Brighter than when I snuck us into the pool in the back of that mansion, brighter than when we went mini-golfing. Almost as bright as when we were at the Getty Villa in Malibu.

Almost.

~~~Sydney's POV~~~

I was still smiling while I looked around the room at our colossal mess we left in the aftermath of out tinsel battle. And I mean colossal. We ended up using all of the tinsel, too. Oh God, what were we going to say to Dorothy?

I looked down to Adrian to tell him that it probably wasn't worth it, but found him staring up at me with a familiar distant look in his eyes. "Adrian?" I said, nudging his shoulder with my foot.

He blinked, and focused on me again. "Sorry. Zoned out," Adrian said with a wink. I was about to respond when I heard a knock at the door.

I spun around so fast I almost fell over. Could Zoe be back already? She was supposed to be gone all day! It had only been an hour or so, and there was no way she could've finished her shopping for me, Carly, and our parents. Zoe likes to take her time finding the perfect gift, but she's also a last minute kind of person.

"Eddie," I whispered, "Can you go look out the window and see if my car is there?"

Eddie got up quickly and quietly and moved to the other side of the room. He peered out the window, and I heard him curse under his breath. "It's there."

Adrian jumped up and started helping me get tinsel out of my hair, because sadly, it was a two person job. Jill and Eddie quickly went to work scooping up decorations from the floor and shoving them back into their bags or boxes.

It was amazing how everybody in the room knew what we were doing and why. I didn't have to explain the consequences of Zoe seeing us friendly; they all already knew. and they were willing to help me avoid trouble.

If the situation wasn't so stressful, I might have been happy.

After about thirty seconds there was another knock at the door, a louder one that we couldn't ignore. I scrambled to the door and took a deep breath before opening it. When I did, I could Zoe waiting for me, arms crossed. She was glaring at me. Probably for making her wait outside.

"You're back already?" I asked, backing up so that she could step inside. She walked right past me and grabbed my arm, dragging me along with her. "What are you-"

"I'm taking Sydney upstairs," she called out to the others. That got me down right worried. Zoe could barely look at the vampires before. Whatever she was mad at me for had to be important.

Entering our room, she slammed the door and locked. She was facing the door.

"Zoe, what's going on?" I was starting to get nervous. my mind was racing with possibilities. _Did she find out about me and my relationship with Adrian already? Had I left something incriminating in my car? _

_Was she going to tell?_

She turned to face me, frowning. She hasn't looked this mad at me since I "stole" her assignment.

"Why didn't you tell me Keith was in re-education?"

My heart stopped. That was not at all what I was expecting.


	13. Annoyances

~~~Sydney's POV~~~

"I... what?"

Just a few moments ago my mind was working overtime. Now I felt like it had short-circuited.

"You heard me," Zoe huffed. "I called Dad to ask if I should get Keith a present, and he told me that he'd been sent to re-education. And then he said I was incapable of finding out for myself!"

I didn't know what upset me more: the face that Zoe was ridiculed by our father or that she wanted to buy Keith a present. I had to work not to sound too put out by her words.

"Tom Darnell wanted to keep it quiet." This, at least, was true. Tom was devastated that Keith had to stay in re-education, and he didn't want it getting out. It was insane how strangely comforting it was to have that little truth in the sea of lies I seem to be swimming in now a days.

"But I'm assigned here now! I should've known!" Zoe said, still fuming. Someone still should have told me," "You should have told me."

I could feel myself reaching my limit. "I couldn't," I replied stiffly.

"Sydney, we're sisters! How am I supposed to trust you?"

That's when I snapped.  
"

What was I supposed to do?" I asked, my voice dangerously low. "I follow orders, Zoe. That's all any Alchemists do: they follow orders. We follow orders. Sometimes that means lying to those closest to you. Sometimes that means putting up with being lied to." She looked away and I walked over to her, lifting her chin so we had eye contact. "I don't want to be that sort of Alchemist. But you know what? I learned something after I helped Rose. There _is_ no other sort of Alchemist."

Zoe's eyes were wide, and I continued despite the little voice in my head urging me to shut up. "So I do it. I do what I'm told, I blend in. I lie. I accept. Because not doing that is what gets us locked up, tortured, and brainwashed. _Just. Like. Keith._"

Usually, on the few occasions that I lose my temper, I raise my voice to people. Not this time. My voice lowered to near a whisper, and I held Zoe's face close to mine. I don't know if I'd ever spoken to Zoe that harshly before. I almost felt guilty.

Zoe slipped from my grasp and ducked behind me, scurrying to the other side of the room. The fear in her eyes was far too easy to spot. Was she really afraid of me? Somehow, that fueled my annoyance.  
I picked up a book from my night stand and walked to the door. "I'm going downstairs to keep an eye on them." I said without turning. "You can go back out if you want."

"Sydney, you don't have to-"

I slammed the door before she could finish.

I let out a shaky breath. What had I just done? And why?

After a few deep breaths, I walked slowly to the living room where Eddie, Jill, and Adrian were putting up ornaments. "What happened?" Eddie asked as he hung an orange star on the tree.  
I crossed the room and fell backwards onto the couch. "Nothing I couldn't handle," I said. Adrian was looking at me with a bit of concern, but he didn't comment.

Jill put up a flower- shaped ornament and said, "Is Zoe going back out to continue shopping?"

As I was opening my mouth to answer her, my sister herself came down the stairs. Zoe spared me a passing glance before hurrying out of the house once again. As soon as she was out the door, I turned back to Jill. "I suppose so."

"Why did she come back?" Eddie asked, hanging up another decoration.

"She forgot to ask me something," I lied smoothly. I seemed to be getting better and better at that. No one questioned it, and I turned my attention back to the book in my hands. Only then did I realize that I'd taken one of the spell books that Ms. Terwilliger had lent me.

Hesitation gripped me as a stared at the front cover of the book. With Veronica in a coma and Alicia out of the picture (for now), I was technically out of danger for the moment. There was no real reason to continue reading these offensive and defensive spells.

But... did I really want to throw this ability away?

According to Ms. Terwilliger, I had enormous potential with magic. More than she had ever seen. With this power, I had saved my life, along with Adrian's and Mrs. Terwilliger's, time and time again. Giving it up... it was almost like letting them down.

I slowly opened to the last page that I book-marked and started to read.

A little while later, Neil and Angeline came trudging down the stairs. At least, Angeline was trudging. Neil seemed ready and alert entering the living room.

"How can you people be up so early?" Angeline groaned, plopping down next to me over dramatically. I bit my lip to keep from smiling.

Neil frowned. "It's almost eleven," he said, shaking his head. "You're here to protect Princess Jillian, not sleep in. It's our duties as guardians to keep her from harm. Or are you not up to the task?"

Ouch. Not that I didn't agree with what he was saying, but Neil was being unnecessarily harsh. Apparently, Angeline thought so too.

"Hey!" She exclaimed crossing her arms. "I protect Jill plenty."

Neil raised his eyebrows. "Not that I've seen."

Angeline opened her mouth, probably to give some biting retort, but Adrian stepped in the middle. "Okay!" he said, doing the universal "calm down" gestures with his hands. "No need for anger on Christmas."

"Christmas Eve," I corrected.

"Close enough. Anyways, don't we all want the same thing? To protect Jill?" Adrian shot Angeline a pointed look.

"I guess," she grumbled.

"Neil?" Adrian said.

"Of course. But-"

"Then it's settled!" Adrian looked extremely proud of himself as he sat down next to me and put his feet up. I suppressed a giggle.

Something told me that this holiday could actually sort of work out. I mean, there was a lot of tension in this old house, but nothing that I couldn't handle.

At least, that's what I told myself.

**A/N: I know, it's been months. I really am sorry, and I don't want to give excuses, but my summer's been anything but a vacation. Full-time job. Summer projects. Writers block. I don't know how often I'll be able to update, but I'm ****_NOT_**** quitting this fanfic anytime soon.**

**Please R&R!**


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